House of Lords: Membership

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they consider it appropriate for a Member of Parliament of the Republic of Ireland to be also a Member of the House of Lords.

Lord Irvine of Lairg: There is no legal impediment to such dual membership. For a Member of the Irish legislature to be also a Member of the House of Lords would be no more or less appropriate than it would be in the case of a Member of the Commonwealth legislatures to which the same arrangements apply.

Northern Ireland: Electoral Fraud

Lord Greaves: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What measures are in place or being introduced in Northern Ireland to counter personation of voters, which do not exist in the rest of the United Kingdom; and whether they are considering introducing any of these measures throughout the United Kingdom.

Lord Williams of Mostyn: The Electoral Fraud (Northern Ireland) Act 2002, which received Royal Assent on 1 May, introduces measures to minimise the opportunity for fraud whilst protecting the right of the individual to exercise their franchise. The two main features of the Act are:
	(i) for any application for voter registration to include a signature, date of birth and a national insurance number (or a statement that the individual concerned does not have a national insurance number); and
	(ii) the provision of a photographic identity card to be issued free to those who have no other form of photographic identity acceptable as proof of ID at the polling station.
	Her Majesty's Government have no plans to introduce such measures elsewhere in the United Kingdom.

Royal Ulster Constabulary and Police Service of Northern Ireland

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many full and part-time officers were employed by the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the Police Service of Northern Ireland on 1 May in each of the past five years.

Lord Williams of Mostyn: The numbers of full and part-time officers in the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the Police Service of Northern Ireland on 1 May in each of the past five years were as follows:
	
		
			  May 2002 May 2001 May 2000 May 1999 May 1998 
			 Regular 7,001 7,504 8,489 8,484 8,491 
			 Full-Time Reserve 2,121 2,445 2,858 2,858 2,962 
			 Part-Time Reserve 997 1,050 1,137 1,211 1,285

Northern Ireland Paramilitary Organisations: Ceasefire Status

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they consider that it is possible for a paramilitary organisation to be on ceasefire while developing and testing weapons of mass destruction in South America.

Lord Williams of Mostyn: The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland makes his judgments on the status of an organisation's ceasefire in the light of all the available information, and taking account of the views of his security advisers.

Killyleagh Police Station

Lord Kilclooney: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether there are any proposals (1) to close the police station in Killyleagh, County Down or (2) to reduce the number of policemen based in Killyleagh PSNI station; and what they see as the future of policing in Killyleagh.

Lord Williams of Mostyn: I have been advised by the Acting Chief Constable that there are no current plans to close Killyleagh station or to decrease the number of officers serving Downpatrick District Command Unit which covers the Killyleagh area. The Government remain committed to providing the necessary resources to ensure that the police service operates effectively; however, the future of policing in Killyleagh is an operational matter and as such is the responsibility of the Chief Constable in consultation with the Policing Board.

Millennium Dome

Viscount Astor: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether, in respect of the disposal of the Millennium Dome and its surroundings, there was any transfer of liability for any future damages due to any possible contamination of the site.

Lord Rooker: As owner, English Partnerships (EP), the Government's regeneration agency, remediated their land on the Greenwich penninsula, as necessary, including the Dome site, in accordance with requirements of the London Borough of Greenwich and the Environment Agency.
	As part of the agreement between EP and MDL, MDL and any other prospective developers will be assuming liabilities arising from the works that they undertake on the land. Land will be drawn down for development against specific projects, and an environmental deed and method statement will control all construction activity. Any issues surrounding liability for possible contamination will be addressed as an integral part of each commercial transaction. Any residual liability will be covered by environmental insurance policies.

Millennium Dome

Viscount Astor: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is the basis for the priority return to be paid to Anschutz on the share of profits of the Dome; and how it will be calculated.

Lord Rooker: Anschutz Entertainment Group will receive a priority return from the Dome in order to reflect the £200 million investment that will be made in the Dome. The details of the priority return are commercially confidential. Of the £200 million, approximately £135 million will be for the arena, funded by Anschutz Entertainment Group; and up to £65 million will be for the Dome waterfront area, inside and adjoining the Dome, funded by the joint venture between Meridian Delta Limited and Anschutz Entertainment Group.
	Full details of the deal between English Partnerships and Meridian Delta Limited are being made available to the National Audit Office, which is conducting an examination of the process leading up to the recent exchange of contracts and of the details of the deal between English Partnerships and Meridian Delta Limited and Anschutz Entertainment Group.

Millennium Dome

Viscount Astor: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they have agreed a payment with British Gas for its 7.5 per cent entitlement to the sale proceeds of the land at the Dome site.

Lord Rooker: Discussions between English Partnerships and British Gas are continuing.

Millennium Dome

Viscount Astor: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When they expect the Millennium Commission to start receiving repayments of the monies it provided for the Dome.

Lord Rooker: English Partnerships and the lottery will receive a fair split of the proceeds from the sale of the Dome and land on the Greenwich peninsula. No decisions have yet been made on the split, including timing.

Millennium Dome

Viscount Astor: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How much English Partnerships have invested in the Dome and Greenwich peninsula.

Lord Rooker: English Partnerships, the Government's regeneration agency, has so far invested some £237 million in the regeneration of the 300 acres of the Greenwich peninsula which it acquired from British Gas in 1997. This figure is made up of:
	
		
			   
			 £20.5 million Purchase of the site; 
			 £185.5 million Preparing the overall site for development, including remediation and infrastructure, and including the Millennium Village; 
			 £11.7 million New primary school and health centre; and 
			 £19.2 million Expenditure on the Dome itself, including running costs since July 2001, decommissioning in preparation for future use, and the cost of the process for securing a future use.

Millennium Dome

Viscount Astor: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they expect English Partnerships to pay to the Millennium Commission its full share of proceeds from the development of the Dome site during the lifetime of the Millennium Commission; and, if not, what arrangements will be made for any remaining remittances.

Lord Rooker: This is a matter to be discussed during consideration of the division of proceeds from the deal between English Partnerships and Meridian Delta Limited and Anschutz Entertainment Group. The division of proceeds between English Partnerships and the lottery has not been finally agreed. A fair split will be worked out, and an announcement made in due course.

Northern Ireland: Prevention of Terrorism Legislation Report

Lord Stallard: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they intend to publish the report on the operation in 2000 of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989 and the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1996.

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: We are pleased to say that J J Rowe's report on the Prevention of Terrorism Act and Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act will be placed in the Library today.
	Permanent counter-terrorism legislation was enacted in the Terrorism Act 2000, which came into effect on 19 February 2001.

Asylum Seekers: Special Grant Report

Lord Desai: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether local grant claims for supporting adult and family asylum seekers for the period 1 April 1999 to 5 December 1999 have been met.

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: We have laid before Parliament today a special grant report which sets out the arrangements for reimbursing local authorities in England for amounts outstanding in respect of claims for supporting asylum seeking adults and families for the period 1 April 1999 to 5 December 1999.

Asylum Seekers: Special Grant Report

Lord Desai: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they intend to reimburse local authorities for their expenditure on supporting unaccompanied asylum seeking children.

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: We have laid before Parliament today a special grant report which sets out the arrangements for reimbursing local authorities in England for the costs of supporting unaccompanied asylum-seeking children as a result of their duties under the Children Act 1989.
	The special grant report explains the areas of expenditure which will be eligible for the grant and the time-scales for local authorities to make their claims.
	WA15–17

Proscribed Terrorist Organisations

Lord Ahmed: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will consider proscribing VHP and Shiv Sinna on the list of terrorist organisations.

Lord Filkin: The list of proscribed organisations is kept under review and decisions to proscribe or deproscribe are taken after careful consideration of all relevant aspects.

Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000

Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether all the codes of practice under Part 2 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 are in force; and, if not, what date is planned for their publication.

Lord Filkin: Codes of practice on covert surveillance and convert human intelligence sources have been issued in draft and for public consultation. That consultation raised a number of complex issues which required detailed consideration. The Government intend to lay the draft codes before Parliament shortly for approval.

Cabinet Office Departmental Report 2001–02

Lord Harris of Haringey: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When they will publish the Cabinet Office departmental report 2001–02.

Lord Macdonald of Tradeston: I have today laid the Cabinet Office departmental report 2001–02 before Parliament, copies of which are available in the Libraries of both Houses.

Territorial Army: Wales

Lord Jones: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many persons serve in Territorial Army units in Wales.

Lord Bach: As at 1 June, there are 1,906 personnel serving in Territorial Army units in Wales.

Services Cadet Units: Wales

Lord Jones: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many Air Training Corps units, Army Cadet units, and Naval Cadet units there are in Wales.

Lord Bach: The information requested is set out in the following table:
	
		
			 Combined Cadet Force (CCF) (as at 1 April 2001) 5 
			 Sea Cadet Corps (SCC) (as at 14 June 2002) 22 
			 Army Cadet Force (ACF) (as at 31 March 2002) 150 
			 Air Training Corps (ATC) in Wales (as at 14 June 2002) 82 
			   
			 Total 259

Independent Advisory Group on Teenage Pregnancy: Annual Report

Baroness Hayman: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When they will publish their response to the Independent Advisory Group on Teenage Pregnancy's annual report.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: We will publish our response on 27 June. Copies will be placed in the Library.

Least Developed Countries: Exports

Lord Alton of Liverpool: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they have any plans to press their G8 counterparts to provide tariff and quota-free access to all exports from the least developed countries by 2005.

Baroness Ashton of Upholland: G8 members committed to the objective of duty-free and quota-free access for all products originating from least developed countries at the WTO Doha Ministerial in November 2001. The UK sees it as imperative to move forward on integrating LDCs into the multilateral trading system and to ensure they can harness the benefits of trade for poverty reduction. The upcoming G8 Summit in Kananaskis offers the opportunity to push for early progress on achieving this goal.

Countryside Conservation

Baroness Byford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Since the publication of the Countryside Commission's Protecting our Finest Countryside: Advice to Government in 1998, how much progress has been made on its recommendations to:
	(a) place an explicit statutory obligation on all public bodies to have regard to the need to enhance the natural beauty of areas of outstanding natural beauty; and
	(b) apply incentives for woodland management across all national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty; and
	(c) arrange for priority allocation of Heritage Lottery funds to areas of outstanding natural beauty; and
	(d) return to greenfield status the disused military airfield at RAF Brentwater on the Suffolk coast and heaths area of outstanding natural beauty.

Lord Whitty: Since 1998, the Government have brought in Section 85(1) of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 which requires that, "In exercising or performing any functions in relation to, or so as to affect, land in an area of outstanding natural beauty, a relevant authority shall have regard to the purpose of conserving and enhancing the natural beauty of the area of outstanding natural beauty". Relevant authorities are listed at Section 85(2) of the Act and include any public body.
	Incentives for woodland management are provided for the Government by the Forestry Commission which provides incentives for woodland creation and management through its Woodland Grant Scheme on a national basis, not just in designated areas. A challenge fund provides further incentives to create new native woodlands in national parks (nearly 1,300 hectares were approved over the past 5 years). In addition, the commission has signed an accord with the association of AONBs setting out how it will maximise uptake of existing woodland incentives whilst ensuring woodlands contribute to AONB objectives.
	Through the Heritage Lottery Fund's strategic plan 1999–2002, the Government support landscapes of outstanding importance to national heritage through acquisitions, management and access projects. One of the three priorities for land was targeted on AONB applicants. Such awards were known as area partnership schemes and by April 2002 about £7 million had been committed to AONBs. This initiative will continue under the strategic plan 2002–07 but will be known as landscape partnerships.
	The disused military airfied at RAF Bentwater is no longer in Crown (MOD) ownership. It was sold in the mid-1990s to a development company. The land has since been divided and sold separately. It is being used as an industrial estate, redeveloped for housing or restored to agriculture (including informal recreation). All of these uses are within the agreed planning brief for the site.

Hedgerow Regulations 1997

Lord Hardy of Wath: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they have reached any conclusion concerning the suggestion in 1998 of the group set up to review the Hedgerow Regulations 1997 that the Environment Act 1995 be amended to allow local authorities to determine which hedgerows in their areas should be protected.

Lord Whitty: A consultation paper on protection of boundary features and amendment of the Hedgerow Regulations 1997 is in preparation. Though we have not reached any firm conclusions on the mechanisms to be used, the consultation paper is likely to invite views on the ways in which hedgerows that are important because of their local distinctiveness should be protected.

National Waste Minimisation and Recycling Fund

Lord Hardy of Wath: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When they will announce how the National Waste Minimisation and Recycling Fund will be distributed.

Lord Whitty: We are pleased to announce today the arrangements for the distribution of the National Waste Minimisation and Recycling Fund. Local authorities in every region of England (apart from London which is being handled separately) will receive a total of £42 million in 2002–03 from the fund to kick start new projects. The money will go to schemes that improve recycling, complement municipal waste management strategies and contribute to a better quality of life for residents.
	From over 190 applications to the fund for 2002–03, 12 schemes were approved by DEFRA with the assistance of an expert panel. Details of the successful schemes will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses shortly when the local authorities have been informed. We are now inviting applications for grants from the fund for 2003–04 when £76.3 million will be available; almost double the amount for 2002/03.
	The national fund prioritises five key areas:
	improving partnership initiatives between authorities;
	contributing to high performance, innovation and best practice;
	establishing a challenge fund for general projects;
	developing community initiatives;
	turning around low recycling performance.
	Overall, England recycled just 10 per cent of its household rubbish in 1999–2000, one of the lowest rates in Europe, and we are taking action to improve this. We have set a target of 25 per cent recycling by 2005–06 and have allocated £19.9 million from the fund for helping turn around low performance and £12.5 million for partnership working. The assistance given by this fund will help some of the lowest performers in their efforts to reach a minimum recycling rate of 10 per cent in 2003–04.
	Neighbourhood renewal is also a key area of government policy and over half of the 88 NRU local authorities in England are low recycling performers. 21 NRU local authorities were approved for direct grant in 2002–03, amounting to a total of some £14 million.
	We will be publishing revised guidance for the submission of bids to the fund for 2003–04 very shortly on DEFRA's website.

Sheep National Envelope: England

Lord Acton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they have reached a decision on the implementation of the sheep national envelope in England.

Lord Whitty: Under the revised EU sheepmeat regime national envelopes were introduced to provide member states with an element of flexibility in how they support their sheep sectors; funds under the envelope can be used to provide extra support to producers, improve the marketing and production of sheepmeat and encourage more environmentally friendly farming practices. National envelopes can be implemented on a regional basis; this is being done in the United Kingdom.
	In England, the national envelope is worth £5.4 million in 2002. There is also a provision in the revised regime permitting member states, or parts of member states, to increase the size of the national envelope by reducing the basic rate of sheep annual premium by up to one euro. This could increase the size of the envelope in England by around £5 million.
	The Government issued a consultation letter in January seeking views on how the national envelope should be used in England. We have now considered the responses we received, and have reached decisions on the way forward.
	The Governemnt intend to make maximum use of the flexibility we negotiated at the Agriculture Council to switch support from subsidies per breeding ewe to support for restructuring and modernising the industry in line with the strategy set out in the Curry commission report. This means that, after a transitional year this year, we will by 2003 use the maximum available under the scheme to reduce sheep numbers in historically overgrazed areas by encouraging extensification in the uplands and to improve the quality and marketing of sheep.
	For the transitional year of 2002, we intend to introduce a scheme to reduce sheep numbers in areas subject to historic overgrazing. Under the scheme the Government will purchase sheep quota from producers, who in return will be required to undertake to maintain lower stocking levels on the land in question. The scheme will operate by tender; in deciding which offers should be accepted we will take into account both price and other relevant factors such as the extent of historic overgrazing. This scheme will be open for applications in the autumn, and we hope that offers will be dealt with before the close of the next quota-trading period.
	£2 million will be allocated to the quota purchase scheme in 2002. The remains of the 2002 national envelope will be paid to producers as a top-up to sheep annual premium payments; this will be worth some 46 pence per eligible animal.
	For 2003, and in subsequent years, we intend to make full use of the opportunity in the new regulation to increase the size of the national envelope by reducing the rate of the sheep annual premium. This will enable us to fund a range of schemes from the national envelope.
	The quota purchase scheme will be retained in 2003 and beyond; the level of resources allocated to the scheme will be decided in the light of our experience this year, but we expect it to be at least £1 million a year.
	We are minded to introduce two further schemes in 2003: an upland extensification scheme and an industry development scheme:
	the upland extensification scheme will be linked to hill farming allowances, and will pay additional sums, on a per hectare basis, to producers in less favoured areas who stock sheep below certain stocking levels. There are likely to be different stocking criteria and payment rates for different categories of land;
	the industry development scheme will seek to encourage producers to participate in existing initiatives intended to improve the marketing and quality of sheepmeat. The details of the scheme still need to be developed, but the intention is to pay producers, via an uplift in their sheep annual premium payments, who participate in eligible schemes. These might include recognised assurance schemes; sire referencing and genetic improvement schemes; schemes linked to the National Scrapie Plan; recognised local-marketing initiatives.
	We will be consulting interested parties further on the details of these two schemes. We will also be considering, in the light of further views we receive, whether any further schemes should be introduced in 2003 or thereafter. Schemes will be operated by the RPA.
	The Goverment believe that these schemes will make a major contribution towards addressing the problem of historic overgrazing in the uplands and improving the responsiveness of the sheep industry to the market. We recognise, however, that schemes funded from the national envelope can form only one element of the co-ordinated programme of measures needed to restore habitats damaged by historic overgrazing. We will be looking to English Nature to take appropriate action under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act, encouraging producers to make use of agri-environment schemes and considering what steps we can take, including use of the cross compliance rules where appropriate, to reduce stocking pressure on land in unfavourable environmental conditions.

Pension Funds: Stock Market Values

Lord Higgins: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the answer by the Baroness Hollis of Heigham on 27 May (HL Deb, col. 1040), whether they will place in the Library of the House the analysis which supports the view that "what has happened on the stock market . . . has wiped one third or so off the value of pension funds"; and how that estimate compares with that made by the major fims specialising in pension performance measures.

Baroness Hollis of Heigham: As of 20 June this year, the stock market had fallen in value by almost exactly one third to 4,639 points from its peak at 6,950 points in December 1999.
	The overall effect of this fall on the value of pension funds is dependent on individual pension fund asset distribution, determined by individual scheme investment strategy. However, since a substantial proportion of all pension funds are invested in equities, it follows that the reduction in their value is likely to be of the same general order as the overall reduction in stock market values.